I am working out the bugs in my homemade light and welcome new ideas. It has worked well so far but I am trying to make it lighter. I get 150-200 yds of clear illumination out of it. It is a little less now that I died the lense with Dikem. Note- only spray 1 coat or enough to evenly cover the lens or it will decrease your ability to ID a target beyond 100yds.
Sealed beam lantern Spot - NAPA $13
Wiring 10-12 guage spare junk in my shop
2 way plug for quick detach wiring harness.
The spot throws a rectangular beam that is very concentrated and is only about 20 feet wide at 100 yds.
Drill a hole in the PVC endcap for wiring and wire to lens.
seat lense with a bead of liquid nails and let dry for 5-6 hrs.
Cut a section of the 4" line about 6" long and then cut it lengthwise on one side. Spread enough to go around the end cap and secure with at least 3 short screws.
I taped the whole setup with Camo tape but I will paint the next one to save a little weight.
I used a cheap set of 1" scope mounts from Wally world and used a 1" piece of PVC through them as a base. I used some of the 90* brackets and shaped them to allow parrallell mounting of the light to the 1" PVC. mount with screws.
I intend to come up with a way to hard mount the setup to the scope mounts and still have the beam be adjustable.
Either install a switch on the backside of the light or put one inline to zip tie to gun.
Power source. NELCO New England Light Co. battery tank has 12v 6v and other ports as well as two 12v lugs inside the back cover. I hard wired to the lugs with a couple of crimp on attachments, cut a hole in the back cover for wires to go through, and then zip tied the wires to the handle. I installed the 2 way plug a couple of inches away from the battery, and also wired a cig lighter plug to the same type of plug for an alternate power source. I also use the shoulder strap that came with the battery.
The battery is supposed to power a spotlight for up to 3 hrs. I have used mine for quite a bit longer. I am trying to find some type of switch or dial that I can reduce the voltage with manually to save power.
Don't make fun of me for this. I use a cheap scope mount which has a Tri Rail system that gives me Pic type of rails to mount to above the line of the scope. Clearview Investments $40.
I am sure that this has been done by many people before, I just thought that I would share what I have been working on.
I will try to post a few pics when I get a new camera.
Sealed beam lantern Spot - NAPA $13
Wiring 10-12 guage spare junk in my shop
2 way plug for quick detach wiring harness.
The spot throws a rectangular beam that is very concentrated and is only about 20 feet wide at 100 yds.
Drill a hole in the PVC endcap for wiring and wire to lens.
seat lense with a bead of liquid nails and let dry for 5-6 hrs.
Cut a section of the 4" line about 6" long and then cut it lengthwise on one side. Spread enough to go around the end cap and secure with at least 3 short screws.
I taped the whole setup with Camo tape but I will paint the next one to save a little weight.
I used a cheap set of 1" scope mounts from Wally world and used a 1" piece of PVC through them as a base. I used some of the 90* brackets and shaped them to allow parrallell mounting of the light to the 1" PVC. mount with screws.
I intend to come up with a way to hard mount the setup to the scope mounts and still have the beam be adjustable.
Either install a switch on the backside of the light or put one inline to zip tie to gun.
Power source. NELCO New England Light Co. battery tank has 12v 6v and other ports as well as two 12v lugs inside the back cover. I hard wired to the lugs with a couple of crimp on attachments, cut a hole in the back cover for wires to go through, and then zip tied the wires to the handle. I installed the 2 way plug a couple of inches away from the battery, and also wired a cig lighter plug to the same type of plug for an alternate power source. I also use the shoulder strap that came with the battery.
The battery is supposed to power a spotlight for up to 3 hrs. I have used mine for quite a bit longer. I am trying to find some type of switch or dial that I can reduce the voltage with manually to save power.
Don't make fun of me for this. I use a cheap scope mount which has a Tri Rail system that gives me Pic type of rails to mount to above the line of the scope. Clearview Investments $40.
I am sure that this has been done by many people before, I just thought that I would share what I have been working on.
I will try to post a few pics when I get a new camera.